Sir Alex Ferguson bigger influence on English football than Guardiola: Solskjaer

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is of the opinion that Sir Alex Ferguson has had a greater influence on English football than Pep Guardiola. Solskjaer's comments have come just before his team hosts Manchester City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal match on December 7.

Sir Alex Ferguson bigger influence than Guardiola

According to reports, former England striker Gary Linekar had claimed that Guardiola had the biggest positive impact on English football. Responding to Linekar's claims, Solskjaer said that he had always admired Guardiola as a manager but had worked under the most influential one i.e. Sir Alex Ferguson.

Sir Alex Ferguson had described Manchester City as United's 'noisy neighbours' back in 2009 but since his retirement in 2013, the blue side of Manchester has become a dominant force in English football. Solskjaer has accepted the fact the Red Devils are not at par with City at the moment but said that United is still the biggest football club in the world.

Solskjaer said that today's time is a bit different, referring to the time when City started spending big to bring in quality players. The Norwegian said that he was surprised by the things that happen in football, adding that City deserves to be where they are with whatever they have done in the past couple of years.

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'Manchester United is the biggest club in the world'

Solskjaer said that he still thinks that Manchester United is the biggest club in the world and that is the driving force for them to get back to winning ways. He also said that it a process that is going to take time to show results.

In the December 7 derby that City lost 2-1 to United, their defence was torn apart with frequent counter-attacks from Solskjaer's team, ultimately leading to two goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Solskjaer said that with their win over City boosted the team's confidence. He said that the boys had played a really good game in which they had the chance to score three or four goals, adding a team needs to beat City's counter-attack because they are very good at regaining the ball possession.

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(With inputs from agencies)